A run-hungry S Badrinath has been the mainstay of the Tamil Nadu batting since the mid-2000s, and has also captained them. Badrinath stands tall at the crease, and plays with a correct technique. He was pitchforked into the national consciousness in 2005-06 when he nearly topped the batting charts, scoring 636 runs from seven matches at almost 80, missing pole position by 36 runs to Amol Muzumdar, who played one match more. In comparison 2006-07 was not as spectacular, but Badrinath managed 436 runs at almost 50. An excellent fielder at point, and elsewhere in the circle,

Badrinath began as a grafter, something quite rare at a time when strokemakers ruled, and expanded his repertoire of strokes as he gained experience. In 2007 he piled on the runs for India A on their tours to Zimbabwe and Kenya, and in the home series against South Africa A. In October he was called up to the ODI squad for the last three one-dayers against Australia, though he did not get a game. He was dropped for the series against Pakistan that followed. He shrugged off the disappointment by performing well in the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season, scoring 659 runs at 65.90.

After being ignored for ten months, he was named as Sachin Tendulkar's replacement for the Sri Lanka ODIs and impressed in his first appearance, showing sound technique against the spinners to see India through to a tense win. He made it to the Test squad for Australia's 2008-09 tour of India, but didn't get his debut. However, a series of injuries to the Indian middle order handed Badri a Test debut in Nagpur more than a year later, at the age of 29. He was off the radar after a couple of Tests but another year of heavy run-getting in both the Ranji Trophy and the IPL earned him a spot on the one-day leg of the West Indies tour in 2011.